Heather Watson wins singles title at the Lexus GB Pro Series Nottingham
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There was British success at the Lexus GB Pro Series Nottingham this weekend with Heather Watson lifting the women’s singles title.
The pairing of Naiktha Bains and Amelia Rajecki claimed the women’s doubles trophy, alongside compatriots James Davis and Matthew Summers in the men’s draw.
Watson had an impressive run to the final, only dropping a single set to claim the singles title at the W50 Nottingham, before she heads off to compete for Great Britain at the Olympic Games.
The final saw third seed Watson comfortably defeat the second seed, Manon Leonard, 6-3, 6-0 to obtain her 12th ITF singles title. On the way to the final Watson overcame fellow Brits including Katie Swan and Mimi Xu. This win sees Watson climb 23 places back into the WTA top 200.
Speaking after the final, Watson said “Really, really happy to get the title here today back in Nottingham. Feel like I was only here a few weeks ago - and I love it here.
"I always love playing at home. I feel like it brings out the best in me. My goal this week was to try and play as many matches as possible - I've done that, and I'm really pleased and proud of the way I played this week. This tournament has definitely given me a lot of confidence because I played a lot of very tough opponents this week, and to come through those matches and then be holding the trophy by the end - I'm feeling really good.”
Australian top seed James McCabe won his first pro singles title over the weekend, defeating George Loffhagen 6-0, 6-1 in 59 minutes.
Speaking about winning his maiden title, McCabe said “It feels absolutely amazing - this whole swing has been really special to me, from starting on the grass to the clay, then back on the grass. Something unexpected happened, winning this week, when it's six weeks straight. To be honest I was exhausted - I've got a week off now and I'm going to enjoy it, but so glad to have finally won a title.”
Bains and Rajecki overcame compatriots Swan and Xu 1-6, 6-4, 10-8 in an all-British doubles final to clinch the women’s doubles title.
Reflecting on the win Rajecki said, “I think we knew if we played our way and we did what we did best, it would work out in the end. I think we did that. I think we were brave, and we went for it - it really paid off and luckily in that breaker, I think we went for it and it went our way.” This is the pair's first title together.
In the men’s doubles draw, the British duo Davis and Summers defeated the top seeded Australians 6-3, 6-4 to come out on top. “It feels great. We play a lot of the British futures and we've had some good weeks in the past but it's my first 25k title, James's second, so it's great. It's great to be in England and winning matches on home soil,” said Summers post win.
LTA Tournament Director Lauren Beech said: “Another great week of tennis here at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre. British success at Wimbledon continued to inspire, with our players running deep across all the draws. Congratulations to the hard-fought W50 and M25 title winners, which included five Brits. We have seen strong home representation in the finals of all events this fortnight and exceptional talent on display.”
